Toddler & Preschool Gift Guide

It’s getting down to the wire! If you are still looking for gifts for your kids, grandkids, nieces, or nephews here are a few items I’d recommend. All of the toys listed below are ones we own and love, unless otherwise specified. My kids are currently 11 months (Campbell), 4 years (Dexter), and 6 years (Cooper).

If you’re shopping through Amazon you have until Sunday, December 22 to place your order to receive it with Amazon Prime Shipping. Not a Prime Member? You can sign up for a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime. A Prime membership costs $79/year and includes unlimited FREE 2-day shipping with no minimum order size, Amazon Streaming (which includes 40,000 free movies and tv episodes for you to watch instantly), and you can borrow books from the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.

This is pretty much the cutest toy ever. All the pieces are easy to attach and detach and you can make tons of different combinations; easy enough for a young toddler but interesting enough for a preschooler or older. I love that this toy promotes creativity.

I’ll admit I saw this toy years ago and thought it was ridiculous. The kids had a chance to try them out at a friend’s house and they loved them so much that friend bought them for the boys for Christmas last year. Dexter enjoys lounging in his or taking it onto the wood floor in the kitchen to spin.

This projects a rainbow across the wall. I found this on sale years ago and thought it looked interesting so the boys got it for Christmas. Years later we’re on our second one (the first was used daily and dropped several times so I was amazed it lasted as long as it did) and the boys still insist on having it on at bedtime EVERY NIGHT. I think it’s really pretty and it has a timer so it turns off after 10 minutes. We love it so much I’ve ordered other Uncle Milton products, like the Uncle Milton Shooting Stars in My Room.

I love LeapFrog. We’ve never had a LeapFrog product that disappoints. The Leapfrog Leap Reader and Writer can read books like the LeapFrog Tag system (yes, materials are interchangeable), but it can also do activities and games with kids and help teach kids how to write. Cooper and Dexter were especially fans of the 3D Monster’s University book.

We discovered Buster Balloon (now called Boom Boom Balloon) at the Chicago Toy and Game Fair last year. It’s hilarious and we all love playing it. A balloon sits in the middle and each player has to roll a die and push plastic sticks into the balloon, clicking them according to what they roll. The last person to go before the person who pops the balloon wins! We like this game a lot and brought it with us several times while visiting family.

We received the Hape Bamboo Super Moose game so I could post a review of it. You can read my full Hape Bamboo Super Moose game review, but to give you the shorter version – we really enjoy this game. It’s fairly simple to play, but challenging for all of us. Surprisingly, Dexter is the champion every time we play!

We received the Radio Flyer Ziggle to review and this is another favorite toy (see the full Radio Flyer Ziggle review). This is great for a large age range; both my older boys liked it but I think an older child would also enjoy it and be able to go faster and spin out more on it. Dexter still struggles with peddling a bike so this is a good alternative for him so he can get moving too. It is very low to the ground so I would really suggest it for wide open spaces or private property and NOT for use around cars.

Cooper is obsessed with making art and Santa gifted this to him a little early this year. He LOVES it and John and I were surprised at how easy it is. The recommended age is 8+ but Dexter was even able to make his own marker. Everything in the kit fits together for storage and it isn’t messy. We did have a bit of leaking ink at one point, but it cleaned up very easily. You can make 16 markers with the Marker Maker and then purchase refill kits to make more.

This is a toy we do not own (yet). We discovered this at the Chicago Toy and Game Fair this year and finally had to drag the boys away from the floor model. It reminded me of giant Tinker Toys used to build forts. Sheets can be hung with clothespins to make a fort for the kids to play in. I think the kids would love building the fort as well as playing inside it once it was done.